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Mary Had a Little Lamb

May 07, 2021
 

Ready for a super quick history lesson?

Did you know the children’s song “Mary Had a Little Lamb” is based on a true story? Mary Sawyer of Sterling, Massachusetts had a lamb for a pet, and it really did follow her to school one day! 

John Roulstone was there the day that the lamb came to school - it must have been a memorable experience because he wrote a poem about it, and gave that poem to Mary. 14 years later, poet Sarah Josepha Hale expanded Mary’s poem with 3 more stanzas, ending it with a moral lesson.

Mary Sawyer’s house, a historic site in Sterling, MA is still owned by Mary’s descendants-- unfortunately the original home burned down in 2007, but they have rebuilt a replica. The “Redstone School”, where Mary brought the lamb, has remained a historic site as well, but has been moved to a new location in Sudbury, MA.

Well, Sudbury MA is not too far from my house, so of course we had to take a field trip! It is just as charming as can be, in a very picturesque setting. Our kiddos enjoyed acting out the story of Mary and her lamb, and it was very special to sing the classic nursery rhyme in such a historic setting! We hope you enjoy our video and musical rendition. The repetition in the song makes it a great song for young talkers and singers to develop verbal skills, and the simple melody makes it so easy to sing and remember. We’ve also added a fun suggestion for personalizing the song with your child’s name and favorite animal, at the end of the video.

Fun fact: Thomas Edison recited “Mary Had a Little Lamb” into his first working phonograph (Hear an audio recording of his remembrance of that occasion here: https://publicdomainreview.org/collection/edison-reading-mary-had-a-little-lamb-1927)

Here’s a Smithsonian Magazine article about “Mary Had a Little Lamb”.

Check out Episode 17 of our podcast where we shared 3 songs about sheep, including a printable lesson plan with great sheep-themed extension activities.

This video comes straight from our Spring online course inside of our All Access Membership.  If you subscribe to our membership, you’ll have access to over an hour of video music class content, including:

  • Engaging listening activities to accompany all 3 movements of Vivaldi’s “Spring” from the Four Seasons as well as Beethoven’s Pastoral Symphony
  • Several classic children’s songs that have stood the test of time (with fun ways to enjoy and learn from them, of course!)
  • A great original movement song called “Rain Comin’ Down” that’s sure to get in your heads and keep your kiddo moving!
  • A bonus video just for babies, and 2 bonus videos to teach and inspire creativity in our preschool (and older) subscribers too.
  • Spring themes such as planting seeds, caterpillars, rainstorms, birds, and being outside in the warmer weather.
  • Printable “Mary Had a Little Lamb” puppets and more spring printables for our “Walk in the Garden” seek and find activity.
  • NEW: A specially curated book list to accompany the course, thanks to Aimee at @keepabookout. 

This list is just what's inside the Spring course.  If you subscribe to the membership there are over 250 video activities across 15 different themes.  Think Carnival of the Animals, Peter and the Wolf, Fun on the Farm, Space, Fairy Tales, the Four Seasons and more!

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